By Nick Lambe – Managing Director, Links International
Here are my top picks for the best global business news I read over the past week:
Big news for APPLE vs Samsung!!
With the launch of the iPhone 7 this month, there are two very divided opinions throughout the market. On the one hand, there are MANY people who are all over the new features such as the operating system, the wireless headphones and the waterproofing, whilst on the other hand, there are people who will very much be up in arms about these features… Apple effectively has the power to control what consumers like and change the market at their whim, so I think, as with many of the new launches, even those who dislike the new features will eventually succumb to the Apple effect in the end. Samsung on the other hand has been hammered with the exploding Galaxy Note 7 and its ban from many commercial airlines… I suspect it will take some time to get these issues resolved and couldn’t come at a worse time as Apple launches their new product!
Gender Bias at LinkedIn…
LinkedIn has recently denied any gender bias on its site as claimed by the Seattle Times, whereby a search for Stephanie Williams would include a prompt for Stephen Williams. LinkedIn has since updated its algorithms to remove the issue, but with much scrutiny over social media algorithms’ alleged hints of bias, how will we know there is no bias to gender or other demographics on social media in the future?
Even the High Profile Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair isn’t immune from fakes…
The recent Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair, which attracts more than 20,000 buyers (up 2.4% YoY), saw customs officials make two arrests as a 44-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman were taken into custody and a “large batch” of counterfeit watch parts were seized. You would think that a reputable event such as this would see consumers protected from these types of activities, especially here in HK! Whilst consumers move from the luxury brands to the mid-market brands, the biggest demand was for smart watches, as wearable technology continues to boom in the region.
Disclaimer: This column is designed to be a light-hearted weekly update on the global business news that I enjoyed reading. We would welcome your thoughts, comments and suggestions.
More next week…
Read previous editions of The Week That Was:
issue 1
issue 2
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issue 4